Consumer Electronics - The Cell Phone Industry Is Going Crazy

Let me ask you a quick question. How many people do you know that DON'T own a cell phone? If you're like me then that answer would probably have been a big fat zero. But why has the cell phone industry become so incredibly dominant in recent history?

A Customer's Need?

How many people do you know, have a cell phone but could definitely do without one? I know several, yet all of them are so sure they need a cell phone that they're willing to bet their lives on it! When did this small consumer product start to become as much of us as our own clothes?

Well when you think about it, the two are fairly similar. If you ask someone why they would prefer to wear a designer label shirt as opposed to one that is not, nine times out of ten they will reply with, "because that's what everybody else is wearing". It's the same with our cell phones, we choose to have one because all of our friends have them and in order to keep up the trend, they themselves must acquire one.

It's funny, when you think about it that people these days, don't buy a cell phone because of its ability to allow us to keep in contact with one another, but more because of the way it makes you look. That's why cell phone companies spend billions of dollars a year in advertising costs to try and make their models seem as cool and fashionable as possible. They know that the only way to get people to buy their phones is to make them the coolest phone on the planet and if you don't have this one, you're friends won't respect you as much!

The Text Message

When cell phones were first introduced, the only feature they had was the ability to make phone calls. Then text messaging came in with an explosion. It would seem that people would prefer to spend 10 minutes writing down a statement, rather than just calling the person and telling them in 2. Crazy thinking but not really when you think about it.

You see, we are a shy society that find it difficult to converse with people in person. Even over the phone can be hard. That's exactly the reason why text messaging succeeded. It allows people to communicate indirectly. You can say pretty much anything you want over a text message conversation and not feel embarrassed about it, pretty smart when you think about it.